Railroad freight car with well for stacked cargo containers

ABSTRACT

A multi-unit articulated railway freight car defining a container well in each of the several units, with container support members attached to the side sills of each unit to support standard intermodal cargo containers at a location low enough to permit a second tier of containers to be stacked atop a bottom tier without exceeding the maximum height restrictions of most main railroad lines, although ample clearance is preserved beneath the bottom of the car when fully loaded. Each container support member is constructed of thick plate steel of high strength, formed cold to include residual internal stresses in order to resist failure when subjected to the loads imposed by supporting loaded containers carried in the container well. The side sill structures are of box tube and formed sheet construction of small enough width to permit carriage of newer, larger, sizes of intermodal cargo containers without the car or containers protruding outside the clearance available along most railroad lines. A truss structure interconnects the bottom chords of the side sills and interconnects the cargo container support members. Members of the truss structure are attached to the cargo container support members by hinges.

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 07/234,332, filed Aug. 18, 1988, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,893,567,issued Jan. 16, 1990.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to railroad cars, and particularly to arailroad car defining a well, for carrying intermodal cargo containersstacked one upon another.

In order to obtain better overall fuel efficiency in carryingcontainerized cargo over long distances, intermodal cargo containers areoften carried on railroad cars in situations where rail transport doesnot interfere with achievement of required delivery dates. Multi-unitarticulated railroad cars can be built strong enough to carry containersstacked one atop another, since containerized cargo is usually not sodense that car weight combined with the weight of loaded containers willexceed the maximum weights which can be imposed upon railroad tracks.When containers are stacked two containers high on a railroad car,however, overall height is a definite consideration, since only alimited height such as 20'2", or in some cases less, is available onsome main railroad track lines, and it is therefore desirable to providea car capable of carrying containers stacked two high yet with themaximum height of the loaded car as low as possible, even when carryingempty containers.

Similarly, the dimensions of a car capable of carrying containers mustbe within width restrictions resulting from signals and other equipmentlocated alongside tracks. The width of a car midway between its trucksmust be narrower when the truck spacing is greater, in order to remainwithin the available clearance envelope as curved track is negotiated bythe car. Lateral clearance is particularly a problem in the design ofrailroad cars intended to carry containers such as 48-foot-long 102-inchwide containers, rapidly becoming an accepted size in the transportationindustry, since such containers are of a greater width than shortercontainers, and yet a car carrying such a container must still fitwithin the available clearance, since the cost of modifying railwaytrack lines to provide greater clearance is prohibitive.

Sufficient clearance must also be maintained beneath a car whilesufficient stiffness of the side sill structures and the floorstructures, if any, of the car must be provided, and the maximum heightof the side sills must be kept low enough to permit use of the containerloading cranes and associated equipment in use at container loadingyards.

Intermodal cargo containers are constructed to be carried with theirweight transmitted through load carrying structures normally located atthe corners of shorter containers and sometimes spaced longitudinally ashort distance from the corners of longer standard containers. Standardcontainers include vertical load-bearing structures permitting suchcontainers to be stacked one atop another and to be interconnected toprevent separation during transport. The locations of the load bearingstructures in the containers are standardized so that containers havingvarious lengths such as 20 feet, 24 feet, 40 feet, 45 feet, or 48 feetcan be supported on support structures provided at standard spacings onhighway truck chassis, railroad cars, and in container-ship holds. Suchsupport structures must be capable of supporting the entire load ofcontainers and the enclosed cargo, yet must fit within the limitedamount of space available, which, in the case of containers on railroadcars, is defined partly by the clearance available along track lines.The problem of designing a car with sufficient strength to support cargocontainers during operation of a train, where dynamic loads caused bytrack unevenness, car performance dynamics, centrifugal force, and windforces are applied, is complicated by the desirability of rail carriageof wider, heavier, and longer containers, necessitating longer railroadcar truck spacings, while keeping the lateral and vertical dimensions ofthe car within the available clearance envelope.

As a result of these competing considerations, the structure of arailroad car for carrying stacked cargo containers must be strong, yetshallow and narrow, yet not too expensive to build. Others haveattempted to solve similar problems in previously available railroadcars by using corner castings or weldments incorporating containersupport structures, and have used stiffened floor structuresinterconnecting the side sills of a well car, in order to providesufficient strength to carry the loads imposed by loaded intermodalcargo containers or trailers. Conventionally accepted engineeringpractice has taught previously that the construction of containersupport structures massive enough to support the expected loading, yetremain in the space available, would require heating the metal to bend,weld, or cast the necessary structure, adding to the cost of a car.

Previous attempts to construct a satisfactory railroad car for carryingthe longer, wider, containers have not been entirely successful. Theyhave resulted in an undesirably great height of a loaded car,particularly when carrying two containers stacked one atop the otherwith a light load weight, or they have been unable to withstand theforces of carrying loaded containers without early failure. As a result,what is needed is an improved railroad freight car for carrying largeintermodal cargo containers with a resultant overall height of theloaded car which is as small as possible, yet with sufficient clearancebeneath the car and with sufficient lateral clearance for operation ofthe loaded car on most railroad lines.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a lightweight railcar, which may be ofmulti-unit articulated construction, in which each car unit defines awell for carrying intermodal cargo containers stacked one upon another,and which achieves a combination of desirable objectives by having atleast the minimum required clearance beneath the car and maintainingsufficient lateral clearance along the sides of the car, and still iscapable of carrying two large containers stacked one upon another withan overall height which is low enough, in a design providing a car whichis strong enough and durable enough.

The present invention provides a railcar having lightweight side sillseach including a relatively deep rectangular tubular upper chordportion, a web portion which is a single thickness of plate materialincluding a vertical upper portion, a diagonal portion extending inwardand downward to contribute to a stiffer web structure, and a lower chordportion of material of substantially greater thickness than that of theweb and the rectangular tube upper chord portion. The lower chordportion of the side sill includes a diagonally upwardly extending legand a horizontal, inwardly directed leg. A truss structure of diagonallyand transversely extending members connects the bottom chords of the twoside sills to each other to assist in stiffening the structure of thewhole car for purposes of resisting "column" or long wave (as opposed toplate or short wave) buckling of the side sills caused by the loadsencountered during operation of the car.

Container support assemblies are attached to the side sills atparticular locations to receive the load supporting structural portionsof cargo containers. The container support structures each include acontainer support hanger bracket weldment of plate material including avertical face portion substantially parallel with the side sill, andvertical and horizontal stiffener portions perpendicular to the verticalface. The hanger brackets are fastened by welding to the side sill toptube and web. A container support member is of relatively very thick,high strength plate material, bent on an exceptionally small radius ofcurvature, without heating, to define a horizontal portion on which aload bearing structure of a container is supported, and one or moreupwardly extending portions.

Forming the bend in the lower chord of the side sill structure, and thebend between the horizontal and the upwardly extending portions of thecontainer support members without heating the metal develops residualinternal stresses and causes strain-hardening of the material which areimportant to the present invention in providing increased strength inthe desired direction to make the car of the invention capable ofwithstanding the stresses expected to be imposed and less susceptible tofatigue cracking of the metal. Mechanical fasteners, such as rivets orbolts, are used to attach the container support member to the hangerbracket assemblies, rather than welding the container support members tothe side sills, to avoid the problems which accompany welding thickstructures of high strength steel, so as to avoid degrading the fatigueresistant characteristics and preserve the advantages derived by coldforming of the metal.

In the case of a car unit designed to accept containers no longer than astandard 40' container, a container support member may be attached tothe body bolster of the car, as well as to the side sill, by anadditional hanger bracket welded to the body bolster and dependingdownwardly therefrom. A respective upwardly extending portion of such acontainer support member is attached by mechanical fasteners to thehanger bracket depending from the body bolster.

Horizontal transverse and diagonal tension/compression members may beattached to each of a pair of oppositely located container supportmembers by the use of a hinge whose hinge axis of rotation extendshorizontally and longitudinally of the car, permitting the containersupport member to flex when loaded, without applying bending stresses tothe horizontal members joining the oppositely located support members.Additionally, downward flexion of the container support member willbring it to bear downwardly upon the upper surface of the inwardlydirected horizontal leg of the lower chord of the side sill, which willthen provide a portion of the necessary upwardly directed force tosupport a container.

The choice of a high strength metal and ample length of the containersupport members provides the required strength to withstand expectedloads safely without the need to use material so thick that it wouldoccupy space which is critically limited in the corner area at thebottom edge of the side sills. The car of the present invention is thusable to be constructed to fit within the available clearance, yetprovides sufficient interior width in the container well to acceptstandard cargo containers nominally 102 inches wide.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to providean improved lightweight railcar for carrying cargo containers stackedone upon another.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improvedrailcar capable of carrying wide, long, standard intermodal cargocontainers stacked one upon another without extending beyond applicableclearance limitations.

It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide animproved railcar having capacity to carry a greater weight ofrevenue-producing lading, in a car of lighter weight.

It is an important feature of the railroad car of the present inventionthat it includes a container support member of thick high strength steelplate supported by and fastened by mechanical fasteners to a hangerbracket welded to the side sill of the car.

It is a further feature of the present invention that it provides a sidesill of strong yet lightweight construction.

An additional feature of the present invention is the provision ofhinges connecting transverse tension members to the container supportmembers on opposite sides of the car.

A principal advantage of the present invention is that it provides animproved railcar of sufficient strength, and able to carry loaded cargocontainers closer to the rails, yet with sufficient bottom clearance.

A further advantage of the railcar of the present invention is that itprovides sufficient strength and load-carrying capacity in a car whichcan be built more economically than previously available railcars forthe same purpose.

The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of thepresent invention will be more readily understood upon consideration ofthe following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of an exemplary articulated,multi-unit freight car embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view, at an enlarged scale, of a portion of anintermediate unit of the articulated multi-unit freight car shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, at an enlarged scale, taken along line 3--3of FIG. 2, showing a side sill and a container support of anintermediate unit of the car shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional end elevational view of a portion of anintermediate unit of the multi-unit car shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a portion of an end unit of the car shownin FIG. 1, taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 6

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a portion of an end unit of the multi-unitfreight car shown in FIG. 1, at an enlarged scale.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, at an enlarged scale, of a portion of acoupler end of an end unit of the car shown in FIG. 1, showing acontainer support assembly.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of an end unit of the freightcar shown in FIG. 1, taken along line 8--8 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view, at an enlarged scale, of a portion of theend unit shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, taken along the line 9--9 of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings, a multi-unit, articulated railway freightcar 12 includes a pair of end units 14 and 16 and at least oneintermediate unit 18, of which only one is shown completely. A coupler20 and a truck 22 are provided at each end of the car, and trucks 24 areprovided between each end unit 14 or 16 or intermediate unit 18 and theadjacent intermediate unit 18. Because each truck 24 supports the endsof both an intermediate unit 18 and either another intermediate unit 18or an end unit 14 or 16, the trucks 24 should have a greaterweight-carrying capacity than is necessary for the trucks 22 at each endof the car 12.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the end units 14, 16 is capable of carryinga pair of cargo containers 32 and 28, with the container 32 stacked atopthe container 28. In the intermediate unit 18 a container 30 is carriedwith a container 32 stacked atop it. In each case the upper container issecurely fastened to the lower container using conventional connectors.

Alternatively, a shorter container 28, indicated by broken lines, couldbe held in the lower tier of the intermediate unit 18, below thecontainer 32. Further, a pair of containers 34, each half as long as asingle container 28, could be placed in the lower tier of either of theend units 14 or 16, as shown in the end unit 16, and a single container32 might be stacked atop the container 28, as shown on the end unit 14at the left end of FIG. 1.

Cargo containers of the sort used for intermodal transportation of goodsare available in several standard sizes, and the car 12 is intended tobe able to carry containers of a number of such sizes. For example, thecargo container 26 may be a standard cargo container having a nominallength 36 or 40 feet. Similarly, the cargo container 28 may be astandard 40-foot container. The cargo container 30, shown in the lowertier of the intermediate unit 18 in FIG. 1, like the cargo container 32,shown in the upper tiers of end unit 14 and of the intermediate unit 18illustrated in FIG. 1, may be a cargo container having a length 42 of 48feet, which overhangs each end of the 40-foot container 28 shown in theend unit 14 and stacks evenly above the container 30 shown in theintermediate unit 18. The shorter containers 34 shown in the lower tierof the end unit 16 may be standard containers having a length 40 of 20feet.

The car 12 is generally of welded steel construction, which will beunderstood as the means of interconnection of parts described, unlessotherwise specified. Each of the end units 14 and 16 has a pair of sidesills 44, and each of the intermediate units 18 has a pair of side sills46. Referring now also to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, about one-half of thelength of an intermediate unit 18 is shown in top plan view in FIG. 2. Abody bolster 48 extends transversely between the side sills 46 at eachend of the intermediate unit 18, the two ends of which are generallysimilar, and a container well 50 is defined between the side sills 46and the body bolsters 48, to receive a cargo container in a position aslow as it can be carried. A pair of end container guides 52 are locatedon each of the body bolsters 48 and include sloping surfaces to guide acontainer such as the container 30 into the container well 50 duringloading of the car unit 18.

The entire weight of the container 30, and additionally of any containersuch as the container 32 stacked atop the container 30, is carried by apair of container support assemblies, each including a container supportmember 54, the main load support on which a container rests. Thecontainer support members 54 are located near each end of the car unit18 and supported by attachment to the side sills 46. The containersupport assemblies are located, with respect to one another and to thecontainer well 50, where the corner castings of 40-foot containers suchas the container 28 will rest upon the container support members 54. Thecorresponding structural members in longer containers such as standard45-foot containers or in 48-foot containers such as the container 30 orthe container 32 will rest upon the container support members 54, eachof which has mounted upon it a standard container locator cone 56.

Mounted atop each of the side sills 46 adjacent the respective ones ofthe container support assemblies are container guides 58 to guidecontainers laterally during loading into the container well 50.Preferably, the container guides 58 are adjustable to guide and providelateral support for containers such as a standard 40-foot container 28,which are narrower than the 102-inch wide 48-foot container 30, althoughthe particular design of such a guide 58 does not form a part of thepresent invention.

As may be seen most clearly in FIG. 4, each of the side sills 46 has atop chord including a top tube consisting preferably of a formed channel60 having a pair of legs extending horizontally and laterally outwardfrom the container well 50, with the vertical base or central section ofthe channel member 60 being significantly larger than the legs, so thatthe top tube has a width 62 and a top tube height 64 which isapproximately 21/2 times as great. A single web plate 67 of metal formsthe outer wall 66 of the top tube, as well as serving as the web of theside sill 46, while the base or central portion of the channel 60provides a flat vertical inner wall or side of the top tube. The webplate 67 continues downward vertically beyond the bottom of the channel60 to the bend along a horizontal line indicated at 68 and thenceextends diagonally downward and inward to a position beneath the channel60 and about two-thirds of the way from the outer side 66 to the innerside of the top tube. The distance 70 downward from the top tube to thebent 68, and the distance 72, from the bent 68 to the bottom margin 74of the web plate 67 are preferably about equal, the distance 72 beingsomewhat greater to include a distance of overlap between the margin 74and an upwardly directed leg 76 of a bottom chord member 80, which is aplate of metal having a thickness 78 which is significantly greater thanthe thickness of the web plate 67. For example, the distance 70 is about12 3/16 inches, the distance 72 is about 14 inches, the top tube height64 is about 14 9/16 inches, the top tube width 62 is about 5 11/16inches, and the channel 60 and the web sheet 67 are both of steel plate1/4 inch thick, in one embodiment of the invention, in which thethickness 78 is 1/2 inch and the bend 68 defines an angle 81 of about15° from planarity (FIG. 4). The upwardly extending leg 76 continues inthe same direction as the portion of the web plate 67 below the bend 68,and thence is bent with a moderately large radius to extend inward as ahorizontal leg 82 of the bottom chord member 80. The bottom chord 80 maythus have a height 83 of about 8 5/16 inches.

Both the bend 68 in the web plate 67 and the inward bend between theupwardly extending leg 76 and the horizontally extending leg 82 of thebottom chord 80 are preferably formed cold in the metal, while the legsof the channel 60 are welded to the outer wall 66 of the top tube, andthe bottom margin 74 of the web plate 67 is welded to the bottom chord80. This construction provides a lightweight yet stiff side sill 46having three parallel longitudinal panels of light weight, including theouter side 66 of the top tube, with reinforcement provided in the topportion of the side sills 46 by the formed channel 60 and at the bottomby the relatively heavy plate bottom chord 80.

Additional rigidity is provided at each end by a vertical transversegusset member 84, preferably of material of the same thickness as theweb plate 67. For the same reason, a closure plate 86 extends verticallyon the inner side of the channel 60 and extends downwardly to beconnected by welding to the bottom chord 80, as may be seen best in FIG.3. A gusset plate 88 and a doubler 90 reinforce the connection of theside sills 46 to the body bolsters 48 of the intermediate unit 18.

Each of the container support members 54 is connected to the respectiveside sill 46 by a hanger bracket assembly 92 of welded plateconstruction including a main plate 94 defining a vertical inner faceand a pair of transverse vertical flange portions 96 formed by bendingthe plate. Vertical stiffeners 98 and horizontal stiffeners 100 are alsowelded to the outer side of the main plate, extending toward the webplate 67 of the side sill 46. Preferably, the main plate 94 and thevertical stiffeners 98 are at least as thick as the web sheet 67, andthe horizontal stiffeners 100 are thicker.

The container support members 54 are of relatively very heavy steelplate material, at least about one inch thick, for example being 11/2inches thick, and are bent at 102 with a radius of curvature of theinner surface of about three inches (41/2 inches for the outsidesurface), without heating the metal, to form an upwardly directedvertical leg 104 and a horizontal foot portion 106. Chamfered holes areformed and mechanical fasteners 107 having countersunk heads areinserted through the holes and through corresponding holes provided inthe main sheet of the hanger bracket assembly 92 to fasten the verticalleg 104 of the container support member 54 to the hanger bracketassembly 92, so as to avoid the disadvantages, such as the weakening ofportions of the metal, which might occur as the result of fastening thecontainer support member 54 to the hanger bracket assembly 92 by awelded joint. The fasteners 107 may be threaded fasteners, rivets, orlock bolts having annular grooves and to which a nut is swaged with thebolt under tension. Such fasteners should at least meet the requirementsof ASTM A325.

Preferably, the container support member 54 is of a high strength steelwhich will include residual internal stresses and effects ofstrain-hardening as a result of the cold bending process. The residualinternal stresses will include both residual compression stresses andresidual tension stresses at different locations in the material in thebend portion between the horizontal foot portion 106 and the verticalleg 104. The strain-hardening of at least some of the material in thebend causes an increased yield strength of the material which has beenaffected by strain-hardening.

A preferred material for the container support members 54 is a lowcarbon age hardening alloy steel according to ASTM specification A710Grade C, Class 3 Modified, having 90,000 psi tensile strength and 80,000psi yield point, which is available, for example, from Oregon SteelMills of Portland, Oreg.

After the container support member 54 is fastened to the respectivebracket assembly 92, the hanger bracket assembly 92 is welded to theside sill 46, along the vertical transverse flange portions of the mainplate of the hanger assembly 92 and along the bottom of the top tube,where a narrow bridging plate 95 connects the upper margin of the mainplate 94 to the inner face of the channel member 60, with the horizontalfoot 106 of the container support member 54 adjacent the top surface ofthe horizontal leg 82 of the bottom chord member 80. As may be seen inFIGS. 2 and 3, the container support member 54 extends longitudinally ofthe car a sufficient distance to provide the necessary load carryingcapacity to carry the expected loads imposed by the weight of thecontainers 30 and 32 and their contents, together with the dynamicstresses imposed by such factors as crosswind, uneven track, trackcurvature and centrifugal force, and harmonic motion of the car duringoperation.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 2 and 4, a truss structure including aplurality of transverse members 108 and diagonal members 110 is providedto stiffen the car unit 18. The truss structure interconnects theopposite bottom chord members 80 at several places where attachmentplates 112 are welded to the bottom chords 80, and also interconnectseach container support member 54 with the laterally opposite one andwith the portions of the truss structure fastened to the bottom chords80. This serves to support the side sills 46 against column or long wavebuckling under the various loads to which they may be subjected duringoperation of the car 12. The truss members 108 and 110 also would beable to serve to support part of the lading of a container 30 carried inthe car unit 18, should the floor of the container fail. Further, thehorizontal leg 82 of the bottom chord 80 (FIG. 4) is sufficiently wideto assist in supporting container floor beams and lading in the case ofa container floor failure.

At the positions along the side sills 46 where the container supportmembers 54 and their hanger brackets 92 are located the truss members108 and 110 are attached by welding to one side 114 of a hinge having anaxis of rotation 116 extending horizontally and longitudinally of thecar unit 18, while the other side of the hinge is connected to thehorizontal foot 106 by being welded to an attachment plate 118 which iswelded to the margin of the container support member 54. The trussmembers 108 and 110 preferably are constructed of rectangular tubularstock with end portions of the truss members 108 and 110 crushed tooccupy a smaller height where they are welded to the attachment plates112 and hinge sides 114.

As a result, the container support members 54 will subject thetransverse truss member 108 and diagonal truss members 110 connected tothe side portion 114 of the hinge substantially only to tension stressesand not to bending stresses, resulting from loads imposed on thecontainer support member 54 by cargo containers carried in the car unit18. The horizontal foot 106 of each container support member 54 willthus be able to be deflected downwardly as the container support member54 flexes, without causing the connection of the truss members to thecontainer support member 54 to fail. Downward deflection of thecontainer support members 54 will also bring them downward into contactwith the top surface of the horizontal leg 82 of the bottom chord 80,which will then absorb a portion of the forces exerted downwardly on thecontainer support member 54.

The end units 14 and 16 include shorter container wells than thecontainer well 50 of the intermediate unit 18, because of the need tohave an end platform, a complete truck, and a coupler at each end of themulti-unit car 12, and because of the need to have the spacing betweentruck centers short enough not to unduly limit the maximum width of thecar units 14 and 16. The units 14 and 16 are basically identical, exceptfor the location of safety appliances which do not form a part of thepresent invention, and therefore only the unit 14 is shown in detail inthe drawings. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a container well 120 is definedbetween the side sills 44, which are interconnected by a coupler endbody bolster 122 and a body bolster 124 at the opposite end of the carunit 14, which is coupled through an articulating coupling and a truckshared jointly by the car unit 14 and the adjacent intermediate unit 18.

Except for a somewhat shorter length and details of connection to thebody bolsters 122 and 124, the side sills 44 are generally similar inconstruction to the side sills 46 previously described as part of theintermediate unit 18, and will not be described in detail. Thecorresponding components of the side sills 44 are labeled in thedrawings using the same reference numerals as those used in connectionwith the previous description of the side sills 46.

Since the end units 14 and 16 are intended to be able to carry a pair ofcargo containers 34, each 20 feet long, a container support member 126,generally similar to the container support members 54, is provided atmid-length of the container well 120. The channel member 60 may be of5/16 inch plate, and the bottom chord 80 of 9/16 inch plate in the endunits 14, 16 to support the resulting mid-span loading of the side sills44. A container hanger bracket assembly 128 is welded to the top tubechannel 60 and web plate 67 after the support member 126 has beenfastened to it by mechanical fasteners 130. The structure of the hangerbracket assembly 128 is similar to that of the hanger bracket assembly92, except that there need not be horizontal stiffeners corresponding tothe stiffeners 100 in the hanger bracket assembly 92, although there arevertical stiffeners 132 and flanges 134 which act as verticalstiffeners. Also, because of the lighter loads expected to be supportedby the container support member 126, fewer mechanical fasteners 130 arerequired than the number of mechanical fasteners 107 used for thecontainer support members 54 of the intermediate units 18, and lightermaterial, for example 11/8 inch plate steel of the same type used forthe container support members 54, may be used as the container supportmember 126, also bent to an inside surface radius of curvature of aboutthree inches, without heating. As with the hanger bracket assemblies 92,attachment of the hanger bracket assemblies 128 to the channel member 60includes the use of a narrow bridging plate 134 extending from thevertical inner side of the channel 60 to the vertical inner surface ofthe hanger bracket assembly 128.

A container corner support member 136 defines each of the four cornersof the container well 120, and is constructed of the same sort of heavyplate material as used for the container support members 54, cut andbent without heating with a radius of curvature of two inches for theinside surface (and 31/2 inches for the outer surface), to include ahorizontal bottom portion or foot 138 and a pair of upstanding legportions, a side portion 140 and an end portion 142. It will berecognized that the container support members 136 will necessarily beprovided in pairs of opposite hand, but otherwise are similar. Acontainer locating cone 144 is provided on the horizontal bottom portion138 of each of the container support members 136.

The upstanding side portion 140 of each of the corner support members136 is attached to the side sill 44 by a hanger bracket assembly 146. Asingle flange 148 is perpendicular to the main plate 150 of the hangerbracket assembly 146, facing away from the container well 120, and avertical stiffener 152 and three horizontal stiffeners 154 are welded tothe main plate 150, also extending away from the container well 120.Four mechanical fasteners 156, which may also be similar to themechanical fasteners 107 of the container support members 54, are usedto attach the vertical side portion 140 to the hanger bracket assembly146. A narrow bridge plate 157 is used to connect the main plate 150 ofthe hanger bracket assembly 146 to the channel member 60 by welding, andthe flange 148 is welded to the web portion 67 of the side sill 44.

A pair of end hanger brackets 158, of right and left hand, are providedat the coupler end of each of the end units 14 and 16, and extendgenerally transversely and vertically, each having a respective flange160 and horizontal stiffeners 162 directed away from the interior of thecontainer well 120. The vertical end portion 142 of the container cornersupport member 136 is fastened to the end hanger bracket 158 bymechanical fasteners 156, and the end hanger bracket 158 is attached bywelding to the channel portion 60, to the adjacent main plate 150 of thehanger bracket assembly 146, and to the interior side of the side sill44.

The hanger bracket assembly 146 and the end hanger bracket assembly 158are positioned with respect to the side sill 44 so that the horizontalbottom portion 138 is located closely atop the horizontal leg 82 of thebottom chord member 80 of the side sill 44 as discussed previously indescribing attachment of the container support members 54.

At the opposite end of the end units 14 and 16 a pair of end hangerbracket assemblies 164, of opposite hands, are provided. The end hangerbracket assemblies 164 are generally similar to the end hanger brackets158, except that the vertical flange portion 160 of each hanger bracketassembly 164 is welded to the bottom of the body bolster 124 and the topmargin of the main plate of the hanger bracket assembly 164 is welded tothe vertical face of the body bolster 124, extending only to a lesserheight than that of the end hanger brackets 158.

A doubler plate 166 is provided on the vertical inner side of thechannel member 60 above each hanger bracket assembly 146 at the couplerend of the unit 14. Reinforcing plates 168 and 170 and a gusset 172 areprovided on each side at the opposite, intermediate end of the end unit14 to provide adequate strength in the area of the connection of theside sills 44 to the body bolster 124.

As shown best in FIG. 6, a truss structure interconnecting the bottomchords 80 and similar to that described in connection with theintermediate unit 18 is provided in each of the end units 14 and 16. Thetruss structure includes a plurality of transverse members 108 anddiagonal members 110 which serve the same purpose described inconnection with the truss structure of the intermediate unit 18. Exceptat the locations of the container corner support members 136 andcontainer support members 126, attachment of the truss structure members108 and 110 to the bottom chord members 80 is accomplished by attachmentplates 112 as in the intermediate units 18. Attachment of the trussmembers 108 and 110 to the container support members 126 and containercorner support members 136 is accomplished by the use of hinges 174 and176, respectively, which define hinge pivot axes extending horizontallyand longitudinally of the unit 14 or 16 in order to function insubstantially the same manner as the hinges 114. The hinges 174 areattached to the container support members 126 by respective hingeattachment plates 178 welded to the margin of the container supportmember 126, and the hinges 176 are fastened to the container cornersupport members 136 by hinge attachment plates 180 welded to therespective margins of the horizontal bottom portion 138 of the containercorner support member 136. Attachment of the truss structure to thecontainer support members 126, 136 in this manner is accomplished forthe reasons discussed previously in connection with the containersupport members 54.

Preferably, a car 12 will include end units 14 and 16 and threeintermediate units 18, utilizing end trucks 22 of 70 ton design andintermediate trucks 24 of 125 ton design and will safely accommodateloaded cargo containers of the sizes described hereinabove, providing anample clearance distance 182 (FIG. 4), beneath the loaded car 12 and oneach side, and without exceeding the maximum height limitations of themajor rail lines, as a result of the high strength of the containersupport members 54, 126, and 136 in combination with the light butstrong design of the side sills 44 and 46, as supported by the trussstructure interconnecting the bottom chord members 80 of the side sillsof the several units of the car 12.

While it would be possible to provide container support members similarto the container support members 126 at mid-length of the intermediateunits 18 to permit carriage of a pair of shorter containers such asstandard 20' or 24' containers in the container well 50, the additionalweight which would result from strengthening the side sills 46 tosupport loading at such a location, in view of the greater length of theside sills 46, would detract from the freight-earning cargo capacity ofthe car because of current limitations on the maximum loading which canbe imposed on the railroad tracks, and would therefore be uneconomical.

It will be understood that a single unit having a pair of couplers 20and a pair of trucks such as the trucks 22 may also be providedutilizing the structure of the present invention. It will also beunderstood that the car 12 may be constructed with shorter end units 14,16 and intermediate units 18, if desired, for carriage of specialcontainers of unusually dense lading.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoingspecification are used therein as terms of description and not oflimitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms andexpressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown anddescribed or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of theinvention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A railroad freight car including a container wellfor carrying intermodal cargo containers, comprising:(a) a pair of bodybolsters extending transversely; (b) a pair of upstanding side sillsextending longitudinally of the car and attached respectively to saidbody bolsters, said container well for receiving an intermodal cargocontainer being defined between said body bolsters and side sills; (c) aplurality of container support members associated with said side sills,each of said container support members consisting primarily of a thickmetal plate having a generally horizontally extending portion includingmeans for receiving a cargo container resting thereof, a generallyupwardly directed portion, and a bend portion interconnecting saidgenerally horizontally extending portion and said generally upwardlydirected portion, said bend portion having greater strength than saidhorizontally extending portion and said upwardly directed portion toresist cracking of said container support member when said car isloaded; (d) respective attachment means for connecting said containersupport members to said side sills; (e) a truss structureinterconnecting said side sills, said truss structure including aplurality of horizontal members extending diagonally between the lowerportions of said side sills; and (f) at least one transverse memberconnected to the laterally opposed horizontally extending portions byhinge means.
 2. A railroad freight car including a container well forcarrying intermodal cargo containers, comprising:(a) a pair of bodybolsters extending transversely; (b) a pair of upstanding side sillsextending longitudinally of the car and attached respectively to saidbody bolsters, said container well for receiving an intermodal cargocontainer being defined between said body bolsters and side sills; (c) aplurality of container support members associated with said side sills,each of said container support members consisting primarily of a thickmetal plate having a generally horizontally extending portion includingmeans for receiving a cargo container resting thereon, a generallyupwardly directed portion, and a bend portion interconnecting saidgenerally horizontally extending portion and said generally upwardlydirected portion, said bend portion having greater strength than saidhorizontally extending portion and said upwardly directed portion toresist cracking of said container support member when said car isloaded; (d) respective attachment means for connecting said containersupport members to said side sills; (e) a plurality of transversemembers interconnecting said generally horizontally extending portionsof laterally oppositely located ones of said container supports; and (f)hinge connections between said horizontally extending portions andrespective ones of said transverse members.
 3. The railroad freight carof claim 2 wherein each of said container support members is of highstrength steel plate at least about 1 inch thick, said bend portionincluding residual stresses and said attachment means consistingprimarily of mechanical fasteners.
 4. The railroad freight car of claim3 wherein said mechanical fasteners extend through bores defined in saidupwardly directed portion.
 5. The railroad car of claim 3 wherein saidcontainer support members are made of low-carbon age-hardening alloysteel having a tensile strength of at least 90,000 lbs. per square inchand a yield point strength of at least 80,000 lbs. per square inch.